Friday, March 1, 2013

Friday, Mar 1st, Quito, Ecuador

Greetings!

We flew from Cuenca to Quito this morning, and were met at the New Quito International Airport by Alejandra, our tour guide until Sunday.  There are still some kinks to work out at the airport, but we sailed through quickly, and she drove us to our old familiar Quito hotel - the Mercure.   Circling the block a few times to overcome a broken down bus on our street, we finally got inside and were given a room right underneath the one we left before going to the Galapagos.

We've decided to rest today, but may go out to the National Museum later.  The Central Bank operates the museum, as the banks have a huge role in supporting the artistic community in Ecuador.  Americans might have felt better about bailing out the financial institutions if their banks did as much for the community as these do.

Tomorrow, we're headed to the Mindo-Nambillo Protected Forest, a 35, 000 acre reserve where 400 species of birds, and lots of orchids, waterfalls, and butterfly gardens await.  On Sunday, our flight through Miami to San Francisco begins at 10:15am and ends and ends late that night.  I'll try to post the shots taken tomorrow on Saturday night, and load up the MacAir and IPad with videos and games for the long flight home.

We made it to the National Museum.  Wow!  Their archeological wing is full of ceramic pots, and gold and silver pieces from the more than a dozen of their Pre-Inca civilizations (mostly coastal groups) dating from 4000 BC to 1000 AD.

To see the photos taken at the National Museum, Click on Friday, March 1st, Quito, Ecuador

See you all soon.

Gregory

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